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v1
Sep 2021

Game: DUNE: IMPERIUM

Publisher: Dire Wolf (2020)

Page 1: Rules summary front

Page 2: Rules summary back
Page 3: Play reference front x2
Page 4: Play reference back x2

These sheets are intended only for the personal use of existing owners of the game for additional reference. Universal
Head makes no claim whatsoever to the rights of the publisher and copyright holder, and does not benefit financially
from these player aids. Artwork from the original game is copyrighted by the publisher and used without permission. This
PDF may not be re-posted online, sold or used in any way except for personal use.

If you need exceptional quality graphic design Peter ‘Universal Head’ Gifford
for your next project, visit universalhead.com The Esoteric Order of Gamers

SETUP
Place the game board in your play area, then place the Mentat
on its side in the mentat space, and the 4 alliance tokens on the
marked areas of the faction’s influence tracks (Emperor, Spacing
Guild, Bene Gesserit, and Fremen).
Separate the conflict cards by their backs (I, II, and III) and
shuffle each deck. Place the 4 conflict III cards facedown in the
marked area of the board, deal 5 conflict II cards facedown on top
of them, then deal one conflict I card facedown on top of them.
This final 10 card deck is the conflict deck. Return the unused
conflict cards to the box without looking at them.
Shuffle the intrigue deck and place it facedown next to the board.
Shuffle the imperium deck and place it facedown next to the
board. From it, deal 5 cards face up to form an imperium row.
Next to this, place the reserve cards in 3 stacks: one for Arrakis
Liaison, one for The Spice Must Flow, and one for Foldspace.
Each player takes a leader and places it in front of them (choose
or select at random). Leaders with more icons after their names
are more strategically complex.
Each player takes a 10 card starting deck, shuffles it, and places
it facedown in their supply to the left of their leader. Each player
takes 1 water and places it in their supply.
Create a bank next to the board containing the solari, spice, and
remaining water tokens. These are not limited; if you run out and
need more, use any convenient substitute.
Each player chooses a color and takes all of its components. Place
2 of your agents on your leader, and your third (swordmaster) next
to the board. Place one of your 2 discs on the score track. In a 4
player game, place it on the 1 space. Otherwise, place it on the
0 space. Place your combat marker (sword side faceup) on the 0
space of the combat track.
Place 4 cubes, one each, on the bottom spaces of the influence
tracks of the 4 factions. The other 12 cubes are your troops: place
3 in one of the 4 circular garrisons on the board (each player
taking the one closest to them).
Place remaining components in your supply, in view of all players.
Determine a first player randomly to take the first player marker.
ROUND STRUCTURE
The game is played in a sequence of rounds. Each round consists
of 5 phases, played in order.
1. ROUND START
Reveal a new conflict card from the top of the conflict deck
and place it faceup in the space next to the deck (on top of any
conflict cards from previous rounds).
Each player then draws 5 cards from their own deck, forming their
hand for the round.
2. PLAYER TURNS
Starting with the player with the first player marker and going
clockwise, players take 1 turn at a time.
On your turn, take either an agent turn or a reveal turn. Generally,
you take agent turns until you run out of agents to place, then you
take a reveal turn. Agent turns are optional. If you wish, you can
take a reveal turn while you still have agents instead of taking an
agent turn.
Once you’ve taken a reveal turn, your turns are skipped for the
rest of the phase, while other players finish taking their turns.
Once all players have taken a reveal turn, this phase ends.
You may play any plot intrigue cards you have during this phase,
at any point during one of your own agent or reveal turns.
AGENT TURN
In an agent turn, you play 1 card from your hand faceup in front of
you, using it to send an agent from your leader to an unoccupied
space on the board. This space must have an icon in its upper left
corner matching one of the agent icons on the card.
You must choose only 1 agent icon on your card; one card can’t
send multiple agents.
You can’t send an agent to a board space that already has one.
The board space you choose may have a cost or requirements. If
you can’t pay the cost immediately (before resolving any effects of
the space or the card you played), you can’t send your agent there.
Sietch Tabr has a unique requirement: to send an agent there,
you must have 2 or more influence with the Fremen.
The agent box (top box) of the card you played may provide an
effect when you play it on an agent turn (ignore the reveal box of
the card during agent turns).
If a card does not have any agent icons on it, you may not play it
during an agent turn; it may only be revealed during a reveal turn.
When you play a card and send an agent to a board space,
you gain the effects of the board space as well as the effects
contained in the card's agent box. If the board space belongs to
one of the factions, you also move your cube 1 space up on its
influence track. You may carry out all these effects in any order.
Arrows ( ) indicate that there is a cost (left of the arrow, or
above it) you must pay to get the effect (right of the arrow, or
below it). You are never forced to pay such a cost, but if don’t, you
do not gain the effect.
DEPLOYING TROOPS TO THE CONFLICT
Whenever the cube icon appears on a card or board space, you
recruit 1 troop. Take a troop from your supply and place it in your
garrison on the board. If you run out of troops in your supply, you
can’t recruit more until some return.
When you send an agent to a combat space (a desert illustration
and crossed swords), you may deploy troops to the conflict area
of the board. You may deploy any or all troops recruited during
your current turn (from both the board space and the card you
played), plus up to 2 more troops from your garrison. Any troops
you recruit but choose not to deploy to the conflict are placed in
your garrison as usual.
CONTROL BONUSES
Some conflict cards reward you with control over one of 3 spaces:
Arrakeen, Carthag, or Imperial Basin (based on the card’s title).
If you win such a conflict, take a control marker from your supply
and place it on the flag below the appropriate board space.
While your control marker is on one of these spaces, you receive
the bonus shown whenever any player (yourself included) sends
an agent there. The bonus is 1 solari for Arrakeen or Carthag, and
1 spice for Imperial Basin.
When a conflict card is revealed for a space that you already
control, you receive a defensive bonus: you may deploy 1 troop
from your supply to the conflict.
HARVESTING SPICE
There are 3 board spaces with a Maker icon, where you may
harvest spice: The Great Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin.
When you send an agent to one, you gain the base value of spice
shown, plus any bonus spice that has accumulated there.
REVEAL TURN
When you have no more agents for agent turns (or you choose not
to use any agents you have remaining), you take a reveal turn by
performing these steps in order:
1. REVEAL CARDS
Reveal all cards remaining in your hand, placing them faceup
in play in front of you. Keep them separate from other cards you
played previously on agent turns.
2. RESOLVE REVEAL EFFECTS
You now gain the effects in the reveal boxes (bottom box) of all
the cards you just revealed (but not those of any cards you played
during agent turns earlier in the round).
You may resolve reveal effects in any order you like. You may also
may use persuasion you’ve gained to acquire new cards for
your deck before, between, or after your reveal effects.
You may acquire any of the 5 cards in the imperium row, or Arrakis
Liaison or The Spice Must Flow from the reserve (Foldspace is
acquired at the board space of the same name). The cost to
acquire a card is shown at the top right of that card.
You may acquire as many cards as you like, as long as you have
enough persuasion to spend. You may pool persuasion from
multiple sources (cards and board spaces) to acquire 1 card,
and may split persuasion from a single source to pay for different
cards. Any persuasion you don’t use during your reveal turn is lost.
When you acquire a card, place it in your discard pile (faceup to
the right of your leader).
Whenever the imperium row does not have 5 cards, replace
missing cards from the top of the imperium deck. Therefore, after
you acquire a card, you may then acquire the card that replaces it
(if you have enough persuasion).
3. SET STRENGTH
Total your strength for the combat this round. Each troop you
have in the conflict is worth 2 strength (troops in your garrison or
supply contribute nothing). Each sword you revealed during your
reveal turn is worth 1 strength.
You must have at least 1 troop in the conflict to have any strength.
If your last troop is removed, your strength is 0, and can’t be
increased by any means, including swords on cards you revealed.
When you’ve totaled your strength, announce it to your opponents
and move your combat marker to the corresponding space on the
combat track. If your strength is over 20, flip the combat marker
to the +20 side and start again from the beginning of the track.
4. CLEAN UP
Remove all the cards from in front of you (from your agent and
reveal turns) and put them in your discard pile.
3. COMBAT
1. COMBAT INTRIGUE CARDS
Starting with the player who has the first player marker and going
clockwise, each player with at least 1 troop in the conflict may
play any number of combat intrigue cards, or may pass.
You are not required to pass just because you passed earlier
in the combat phase. Once all players involved in combat pass
consecutively, you then resolve the combat.
If a card changes the number of troops a player has in the conflict
(or otherwise alters their strength), they adjust their combat
marker accordingly on the combat track (if you have no troops in
the conflict, your strength is 0).
If an intrigue cards says you do something “when you win a
conflict,” you must wait until you’ve won the conflict before
playing the card.
2. RESOLVE COMBAT
Rewards from the conflict card are given to players based on their
strength, as shown on the combat track.
The player with the highest strength wins the conflict and gains
the top reward on the conflict card. The player with the second
highest strength gains the second reward. In a 4 player game
(only), the player with the third highest strength receives the third
reward. A player with 0 strength does not receive any reward.
Once all rewards have been given, each player takes their troops
from the conflict and puts them in their supply (not their garrison).
Reset all combat markers to 0 on the combat track.
On a tie for first place, no one wins. The tied players each receive
the second reward. In a 4 player game, if 2 players tie for first
place, the other 2 players still compete for the third reward.
When players tie for second place, they each receive the third
reward. Players tying for third place receive nothing.
4. MAKERS
Check each of the 3 board spaces with a Maker icon: The Great
Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin. If the space does not have
an agent, place 1 spice from the bank on that space (in the spot
designated for bonus spice). This is added to any bonus spice that
may already be there from previous rounds.
5. RECALL
If any player is at 10 or more victory point (VPs) on the score
track, or if the conflict deck is empty, the endgame is triggered.
If no one has won, prepare the next round:
Return the Mentat to its designated space in the Landsraad
(if it’s not already there). Players recall their agents, returning
them to their leaders.
Finally, pass the first player marker clockwise to the next player,
and begin a new round.
OTHER RULES
LEADERS
Each Leader has 2 unique abilities: the ability on the left is used
during play as described. The ability on the right (marked by the
signet ring icon, is activated when you play your Signet Ring card
on one of your agent turns.
DECK BUILDING
Whenever you acquire a new imperium or reserve card, place it
in your discard pile. If at any time you’re unable to draw a card
because your deck is empty, reshuffle your discard pile to form a
new deck, then continue to draw as needed.
AGENTS
You send agents to spaces on the game board, sometimes
gathering resources, sometimes paying resources to advance your
strategy. You can’t send an agent to a board space without first
playing a card that allows it.
The Mentat is a special freelance agent that you can temporarily
add to your roster of agents for 1 round.
FACTIONS
When you send an agent to a faction’s board space, gain 1
influence with that faction by advancing your cube 1 space on its
influence track. Other game effects can also move your cube up
and down the track.
When you reach 2 influence with a faction, you gain a VP. If you
drop back below 2 influence, you lose that VP.
When you reach 4 influence, gain the bonus on that space of the
track. If you drop back below 4 influence, you do not give back the
bonus (you may earn the same bonus more than once).
The first player to reach 4 influence with a faction also earns an
alliance with that faction. They take the alliance token from the
track, put it in their supply and gain the VP shown on the alliance
token. If they are ever passed by an opponent rising to a higher
space on the track, they must give the alliance token to that
opponent; they lose that VP and the opponent gains it.
INTRIGUE CARDS
You receive intrigue cards primarily from these board spaces:
Carthag, Conspire, and Secrets. They are kept facedown, separate
from your deck, and you may look at them at any time. Reveal
them only when you play them. Once an intrigue card is played
and resolved, place it faceup in a discard pile next to the deck.
Plot: play any time during one of your agent or reveal turns.
Combat: play only during combat.
Endgame: play only at the end of the game.
ENDGAME
First, you may play and resolve any endgame intrigue cards you
have. Then whoever has the most VPs is the winner. On a tie,
tiebreakers are, in order: amount of spice, solari, water, and
garrisoned troops.
HOUSE HAGAL
House Hagal cards are used to control automated opponents
(rivals) who compete against you in solo and 2 player games.
These opponents send agents to occupy board spaces and
contest conflicts by recruiting and deploying troops.
Rivals are affected by cards and board spaces that affect
‘opponents/players’ if they have the specified resources.
Agents
During Phase 2: Player Turns, a rival will take agent turns but it
will not take reveal turns.
When a rival takes an agent turn, reveal the top card of the House
Hagal deck; this will send an agent to the revealed board space,
as long as it is unoccupied. If it is occupied, ignore the card and
continue revealing cards until you reveal an unoccupied space.
If the House Hagal deck is ever empty (or if the reshuffle card is
revealed), immediately reshuffle the cards to form a new deck.
When a rival sends an agent to a board space, ignore all normal
costs and effects of that space. Instead, it gets only the effects
indicated on its revealed card:
The rival advances on the
indicated influence track.
It earns no bonuses from an influence track, but it will take
a faction alliance if able.
The rival uses the Signet Ring ability on its leader
(solo play only).
The rival recruits 1 troop from its supply for each such
icon. If the revealed card is a combat space, deploy them
to the conflict. Otherwise, put the troops in its garrison.
Any time a rival sends an agent to a combat space, it also deploys
up to 2 troops from its garrison (if available) to the conflict. Do
this even if the card itself recruited no troops.
Combat
When Phase 3: Combat begins, each rival that has at least 1 troop
in the conflict gets a combat bonus. In turn order, reveal the top
card of the House Hagal deck. If you reveal the reshuffle card,
reshuffle the deck and reveal again. Ignore everything on the
revealed card except for the sword icons at the bottom.
Advance the opponent’s combat marker on the combat track by
the number of swords revealed. Players may then play combat
intrigue cards before resolving combat.
2 PLAYER GAMES
House Hagal competes against you and your opponent. It doesn’t
collect resources, build a deck, earn rewards, or score VPs, but it
does use the House Hagal cards, sending agents to occupy board
spaces and competing in conflicts.
SETUP
Choose a color for House Hagal. Place one of its cubes on each of
the bottom spaces beneath the influence tracks of the 4 factions.
Put the rest of its cubes in its supply. It starts with no troops in
its garrison. Remove from the House Hagal deck the 3 Arrakeen
cards marked 1P in the upper right corner. Shuffle the remaining
cards and place them and House Hagal’s 3 agents near its supply.
GAMEPLAY
After each of the first player’s agent turns, House Hagal acts,
as long as it has an agent remaining in its supply. The number of
turns that House Hagal takes each round varies because it acts
after the first player.
Because House Hagal can’t collect rewards from a conflict, it can
never claim control of a board space. However, if it wins a conflict
for a board space currently controlled by another player, remove
that player’s control marker.
SOLO GAMES
You face off against 2 rivals; if either reaches 10 or more VPs, they
will trigger the end of the game (and they may defeat you).
SETUP
Select a difficulty level: Mercenary Sardaukar Mentat
Novice Veteran Expert
Your extra starting resources 1 solari – –
1 spice
5 solari token on Mentat space No Yes Yes
Rival starting garrisoned troops – 3 3
Conflict cards above
rival swordmasters 5 4 3
Rival extra starting resources – 1 intrigue 1 intrigue
card card
Kwisatz Haderach (Expert+): You also can’t gain a swordmaster.
Choose 2 leaders, one for each rival. These rivals will use only the
Signet Ring ability on their leaders, ignoring the ability on the left.
Your opponents can’t play Paul Atreides or Helena Richese.
For each rival, choose a color. Place one of their cubes on each of
the bottom spaces beneath the influence tracks of the 4 factions.
Put the number of troops in their garrison for your chosen
difficulty, and the rest in their supply. Place 2 of their agents in
their supply, and insert the swordmasters (third agents) for both
rivals into the conflict deck, putting exactly the number of cards
on top of them as indicated for your difficulty.
Remove from the House Hagal deck all cards marked 2P in the
upper right corner (the Reshuffle card and 3 Arrakeen cards).
Shuffle the remaining cards and place the deck near your rivals.
If your difficulty calls for it, place a 5 solari token on the Mentat
space: for this game, this board space costs 5 solari instead
of 2. You and your rivals each start with 1 water, plus the extra
resources indicated for your chosen difficulty. The rival on your
left takes the first player marker.
RIVALS’ TURNS
During Phase 2: Player Turns, your rivals each take agent turns
in sequence with you, as long as they have an agent remaining in
their supply.
When a rival uses harvest spice to send an agent to a board
space, it gains all spice there (base and bonus). Place any
accumulated resources in the rival’s supply.
COMBAT
Rivals gain first and second place rewards from conflicts, even
things they otherwise don’t take from board spaces: they gain
VPs, and influence with factions. They gain solari, spice, water,
and intrigue cards (keep these in the rival’s supply). They win
control of board spaces, placing a control marker on the flag
below it. On future turns, they get the control bonus whenever you
or a rival sends an agent there. They also receive the defensive
bonus of 1 troop if a conflict over that board space is later
revealed. They gain the Mentat, and use it as an agent during the
next round.
ADDITIONAL RULES
Swordmasters: When you reveal the conflict card above the rival
swordmasters, your rivals each immediately receive their third
agents; they will use them in the current round and for the rest of
the game.
Choices: Whenever a rival has a choice about gaining influence,
they choose the faction in which they have the least. On a tie (or
when there is a choice not involving influence), you decide.
Corner the market: For the purposes of this intrigue card, treat
each rival as though they have 2 The Spice Must Flow cards (you’ll
need 3 yourself to get 2 VPs).
Expert troop deployment: When playing at expert difficulty, your
rivals are more selective about deploying troops to a conflict.
When fighting for a conflict I or II card, a rival won’t deploy troops
if it is already leading by 2 or more troops (saving them in its
garrison instead). For a critical conflict III card, a rival will resume
deploying all the troops it can at every opportunity.
SPENDING RESOURCES
At any time, when a rival has the following resources, they’ll spend
them to earn a VP.
1 VP = 3 intrigue cards / 3 water / 7 intrigue / 7 spice.
BOARD SPACES
ARRAKEEN
Agent icon: City
Combat space. Recruit a troop and draw a card. Arrakeen’s
controller gains 1 solari.
CARTHAG
Agent icon: City
Combat space. Recruit a troop and draw an intrigue card.
Carthag’s controller gains 1 solari.
CONSPIRE
Agent icon: Emperor Cost: 4 spice
Gain 1 influence with the Emperor. Gain 5 solari, recruit 2 troops,
and draw an intrigue card.
FOLDSPACE
Agent icon: Spacing Guild
Gain 1 Influence with the Spacing Guild. Acquire a Foldspace card
from the reserve.
THE GREAT FLAT
Agent icon: Spice Trade Cost: 2 water
Combat space. Gain 3 spice, plus any bonus spice accumulated
here on the Maker icon.
HAGGA BASIN
Agent icon: Spice Trade Cost: 1 water
Combat space. Gain 2 spice, plus any bonus spice accumulated
here on the Maker icon.
HALL OF ORATORY
Agent icon: Landsraad
Recruit a troop. During your Reveal turn, gain 1 persuasion if you
have an agent here.
HARDY WARRIORS
Agent icon: Fremen Cost: 1 water
Combat space. Gain 1 influence with the Fremen. Recruit 2 troops.
HEIGHLINER
Agent icon: Spacing Guild Cost: 6 spice
Combat space. Gain 2 influence with the Spacing Guild. Recruit 5
troops and gain 2 water.
HIGH COUNCIL
Agent icon: Landsraad Cost: 5 Solari
You may send an agent here once per game. Place your councilor
token on an unoccupied council seat (to the right of the space).
For the rest of the game, during each of your reveal turns, gain 2
persuasion.
IMPERIAL BASIN
Agent icon: Spice Trade
Combat space. Gain 1 spice, plus any bonus spice accumulated
here on the Maker icon. Imperial Basin’s controller gains 1 spice.
MENTAT
Agent icon: Landsraad Cost: 2 Solari
Draw a card. If the Mentat is here, take it and place it on your
leader; this round, you may use it as one of your agents to take an
agent turn. During Phase 5: Recall, return it here.
RALLY TROOPS
Agent icon: Landsraad Cost: 4 Solari
Recruit 4 troops.
RESEARCH STATION
Agent icon: City Cost: 2 water
Combat space. Draw 3 cards.
SECRETS
Agent icon: Bene Gesserit
Gain 1 influence with the Bene Gesserit. Draw an intrigue card.
Each opponent who has 4 or more intrigue cards must give you
one of them (selected at random).
SECURE CONTRACT
Agent icon: Spice Trade
Gain 3 Solari.
SELECTIVE BREEDING
Agent icon: Bene Gesserit Cost: 2 spice
Gain 1 Influence with the Bene Gesserit. Trash 1 card to draw 2
cards.
SELL MELANGE
Agent icon: Spice Trade Cost: 2 to 5 spice.
Gain the amount of solari shown based on the cost you paid. You
can’t make multiple exchanges on a single turn.
SIETCH TABR
Agent icon: City
Requirement: You must have 2 or more influence with the Fremen.
Combat space. Recruit a troop and gain 1 water.
STILLSUITS
Agent icon: Fremen
Combat space. Gain 1 influence with the Fremen. Gain 1 water.
SWORDMASTER
Agent icon: Landsraad Cost: 8 Solari
You may send an agent here once per game. Gain your
swordmaster (your third agent that was placed next to the board
during setup). Place it on your leader. For the rest of the game
(including this round) you have 3 agents.
WEALTH
Agent icon: Emperor
Gain 1 influence with the Emperor. Gain 2 solari.

1. ROUND START
Reveal a new conflict card.
Each player then draws 5 cards from their own deck.
2. PLAYER TURNS
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, players take
1 turn at a time. On your turn, take either an agent turn or a
reveal turn (commonly, you take agent turns until you run out
of agents, then you take a reveal turn). Once you’ve taken a
reveal turn, your turns are skipped for the rest of the phase.
Once all players have taken a reveal turn, this phase ends.
You may play any plot intrigue cards at any point during one of
your own agent or reveal turns.
AGENT TURN
Play 1 card from your hand, using it to send an agent to an
unoccupied space. This space must have an icon in its upper
left corner matching one of the agent icons on the card.Pay
any cost or requirement of the space.
Gain the effects of the board space and the effects in the
card's agent box. If the board space belongs to one of the
factions, move your cube 1 space up on its influence track.
Arrows ( ) indicate there is a cost to pay to get the effect.
DEPLOYING TROOPS TO THE CONFLICT
Whenever the cube icon appears on a card or board space,
recruit 1 troop, placing it in your garrison.
When you send an agent to a combat space, you may deploy
any or all troops recruited during your current turn, plus up to
2 more from your garrison.
CONTROL BONUSES
Some conflict cards reward you with control over Arrakeen,
Carthag, or Imperial Basin. If you win such a conflict, place a
control marker on the flag below the space.
You receive the bonus shown whenever any player (yourself
included) sends an agent there (1 solari for Arrakeen or
Carthag, and 1 spice for Imperial Basin).
When a conflict card is revealed for a space that you already
control, you receive a defensive bonus: you may deploy 1 troop
from your supply to the conflict.
HARVESTING SPICE
When you send an agent to a space with a Maker icon (The
Great Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin), you gain the base
value of spice shown, plus any bonus spice there.
REVEAL TURN
1. REVEAL CARDS
Reveal all cards remaining in your hand.
2. RESOLVE REVEAL EFFECTS
Gain the effects in the reveal boxes (bottom box) of all the
cards you just revealed. You may also may use persuasion
you’ve gained to acquire new cards for your deck. You may
acquire any of the 5 cards in the imperium row, or Arrakis
Liaison or The Spice Must Flow from the reserve.
You may acquire as many cards as you like, as long as you have
enough persuasion to spend. Any persuasion you don’t use
during your reveal turn is lost.
When you acquire a card, place it in your discard pile.
Whenever the imperium row does not have 5 cards, replace
missing cards from the top of the imperium deck.
3. SET STRENGTH
Total your strength. Each troop you have in the conflict is worth
2 strength. Each sword you revealed during your reveal turn is
worth 1 strength. You must have at least 1 troop in the conflict
to have any strength.
Announce your total strength to your opponents and move
your combat marker to the corresponding space.
4. CLEAN UP
Remove all the cards from in front of you (from your agent and
reveal turns) and put them in your discard pile.
3. COMBAT
1. COMBAT INTRIGUE CARDS
Starting with the player who has the first player marker and
going clockwise, each player with at least 1 troop in the
conflict may play any number of combat intrigue cards, or
may pass.
You are not required to pass just because you passed earlier
in the combat phase. Once all players involved in combat pass
consecutively, you then resolve the combat.
If a card changes the number of troops a player has in the
conflict (or otherwise alters their strength), they adjust their
combat marker accordingly on the combat track (if you have
no troops in the conflict, your strength is 0).
If an intrigue cards says you do something “when you win a
conflict,” you must wait until you’ve won the conflict before
playing the card.
2. RESOLVE COMBAT
Rewards from the conflict card are given to players based on
their strength, as shown on the combat track.
The player with the highest strength wins the conflict and gains
the top reward on the conflict card. The player with the second
highest strength gains the second reward. In a 4 player game
(only), the player with the third highest strength receives the
third reward. A player with 0 strength does not receive any
reward.
Once all rewards have been given, each player takes their
troops from the conflict and puts them in their supply (not their
garrison). Reset all combat markers to 0 on the combat track.
On a tie for first place, no one wins. The tied players each
receive the second reward. In a 4 player game, if 2 players tie
for first, the other 2 players still compete for the third reward.
When players tie for second place, they each receive the third
reward. Players tying for third place receive nothing.
4. MAKERS
Check each of the 3 board spaces with a Maker icon: The
Great Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin. If the space does
not have an agent, place 1 spice from the bank on that space
(added to any bonus spice from previous rounds).
5. RECALL
If any player is at 10+ VPs, or if the conflict deck is empty, the
endgame is triggered.
If no one has won, prepare the next round: return the Mentat
to its Landsraad space. Players recall their agents. Finally, pass
the first player marker clockwise to the next player, and begin
a new round.
1. ROUND START
Reveal a new conflict card.
Each player then draws 5 cards from their own deck.
2. PLAYER TURNS
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, players take
1 turn at a time. On your turn, take either an agent turn or a
reveal turn (commonly, you take agent turns until you run out
of agents, then you take a reveal turn). Once you’ve taken a
reveal turn, your turns are skipped for the rest of the phase.
Once all players have taken a reveal turn, this phase ends.
You may play any plot intrigue cards at any point during one of
your own agent or reveal turns.
AGENT TURN
Play 1 card from your hand, using it to send an agent to an
unoccupied space. This space must have an icon in its upper
left corner matching one of the agent icons on the card.Pay
any cost or requirement of the space.
Gain the effects of the board space and the effects in the
card's agent box. If the board space belongs to one of the
factions, move your cube 1 space up on its influence track.
Arrows ( ) indicate there is a cost to pay to get the effect.
DEPLOYING TROOPS TO THE CONFLICT
Whenever the cube icon appears on a card or board space,
recruit 1 troop, placing it in your garrison.
When you send an agent to a combat space, you may deploy
any or all troops recruited during your current turn, plus up to
2 more from your garrison.
CONTROL BONUSES
Some conflict cards reward you with control over Arrakeen,
Carthag, or Imperial Basin. If you win such a conflict, place a
control marker on the flag below the space.
You receive the bonus shown whenever any player (yourself
included) sends an agent there (1 solari for Arrakeen or
Carthag, and 1 spice for Imperial Basin).
When a conflict card is revealed for a space that you already
control, you receive a defensive bonus: you may deploy 1 troop
from your supply to the conflict.
HARVESTING SPICE
When you send an agent to a space with a Maker icon (The
Great Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin), you gain the base
value of spice shown, plus any bonus spice there.
REVEAL TURN
1. REVEAL CARDS
Reveal all cards remaining in your hand.
2. RESOLVE REVEAL EFFECTS
Gain the effects in the reveal boxes (bottom box) of all the
cards you just revealed. You may also may use persuasion
you’ve gained to acquire new cards for your deck. You may
acquire any of the 5 cards in the imperium row, or Arrakis
Liaison or The Spice Must Flow from the reserve.
You may acquire as many cards as you like, as long as you have
enough persuasion to spend. Any persuasion you don’t use
during your reveal turn is lost.
When you acquire a card, place it in your discard pile.
Whenever the imperium row does not have 5 cards, replace
missing cards from the top of the imperium deck.
3. SET STRENGTH
Total your strength. Each troop you have in the conflict is worth
2 strength. Each sword you revealed during your reveal turn is
worth 1 strength. You must have at least 1 troop in the conflict
to have any strength.
Announce your total strength to your opponents and move
your combat marker to the corresponding space.
4. CLEAN UP
Remove all the cards from in front of you (from your agent and
reveal turns) and put them in your discard pile.
3. COMBAT
1. COMBAT INTRIGUE CARDS
Starting with the player who has the first player marker and
going clockwise, each player with at least 1 troop in the
conflict may play any number of combat intrigue cards, or
may pass.
You are not required to pass just because you passed earlier
in the combat phase. Once all players involved in combat pass
consecutively, you then resolve the combat.
If a card changes the number of troops a player has in the
conflict (or otherwise alters their strength), they adjust their
combat marker accordingly on the combat track (if you have
no troops in the conflict, your strength is 0).
If an intrigue cards says you do something “when you win a
conflict,” you must wait until you’ve won the conflict before
playing the card.
2. RESOLVE COMBAT
Rewards from the conflict card are given to players based on
their strength, as shown on the combat track.
The player with the highest strength wins the conflict and gains
the top reward on the conflict card. The player with the second
highest strength gains the second reward. In a 4 player game
(only), the player with the third highest strength receives the
third reward. A player with 0 strength does not receive any
reward.
Once all rewards have been given, each player takes their
troops from the conflict and puts them in their supply (not their
garrison). Reset all combat markers to 0 on the combat track.
On a tie for first place, no one wins. The tied players each
receive the second reward. In a 4 player game, if 2 players tie
for first, the other 2 players still compete for the third reward.
When players tie for second place, they each receive the third
reward. Players tying for third place receive nothing.
4. MAKERS
Check each of the 3 board spaces with a Maker icon: The
Great Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin. If the space does
not have an agent, place 1 spice from the bank on that space
(added to any bonus spice from previous rounds).
5. RECALL
If any player is at 10+ VPs, or if the conflict deck is empty, the
endgame is triggered.
If no one has won, prepare the next round: return the Mentat
to its Landsraad space. Players recall their agents. Finally, pass
the first player marker clockwise to the next player, and begin
a new round.
 ICON AND TERMS GUIDE
ACQUIRE
Some cards have a special acquire box, shown
underneath their cost. You gain the effect here one
time, at the moment you acquire the card (and not
later, when you play it from your hand).
ACQUIRE A FOLDSPACE CARD
from the reserve.
AGENT
From the swordmaster space, you can gain your third
agent (that was placed next to the board during setup
of the game), then use it for the rest of the game.
ALLIANCE
You may use this effect only if you have the alliance token of
the faction shown.
CONTROL
If you win a conflict with a control reward (Arrakeen,
Carthag, or Imperial Basin), place your control marker
on the flag below that space (replacing any opponent’s
marker there). When a conflict card is revealed for a
space that you already control, you may deploy one
troop from your supply to the conflict.
DRAW A CARD from your deck. If your deck is
empty, reshuffle the discard pile in your supply to form
a new deck, then continue to draw.
DRAW AN INTRIGUE CARD from the intrigue
deck. Keep it facedown until you play it. You may look
at it at any time.
FREMEN BOND
You may use this effect if you have one or more other Fremen
cards in play. Two cards with Fremen bond can activate one
another, regardless of order played.
IN PLAY
Cards you play on agent turns and reveal during your reveal
turn remain faceup and in play until you clean up at the end of
your reveal turn (unless they are trashed first).
INFLUENCE
You may use this effect only if you have at least the amount of
influence indicated with the given faction.
GAIN INFLUENCE
with the faction shown:
Emperor, Spacing Guild,
Bene Gesserit, or Fremen.
GAIN 1, GAIN 2,
LOSE 1 INFLUENCE
Choose any one of the 4 factions.
If gaining 2 influence, you cannot choose 2 different factions.
LOSE A TROOP
When you lose a troop, return it to your supply (not your
garrison).
MAKER
The 3 board spaces with the maker icon each gain
1 bonus spice during Phase 4: Makers if no agent
is present. When you send an agent to one of these
board spaces, you also gain all bonus spice there.
MENTAT
Take the mentat from its space on the board
(if it’s there; you can’t take it from another player
or another space).
Place it on your leader; you may use it as one of your agents
to take an agent turn. When you take the mentat as a conflict
reward, keep it as an agent for next round and don’t return it to
the board at the end of this one.
PAYING A COST
Indicates a cost (left of the arrow, or above it)
and an effect (right of the arrow, or below it).
If you don’t pay the cost, you don’t get the effect. You are never
forced to pay such a cost on a card.
PERSUASION
You receive persuasion mainly from the reveal boxes
on cards, and use it to acquire imperium or reserve
cards, paying the cost shown in their top right corner.
RECALL
When you recall one of your agents, put it back on your leader.
You may use it again on another agent turn in the same round.
RESOURCES
Solari, spice, water.
When you gain a resource or pay one as a cost, it’s taken from
or returned to the bank. For solari and spice, gain or pay the
amount shown.
RETREAT
When you retreat a troop, move it from the conflict back to
your garrison.
SIGNET RING
When you play your signet ring card on an agent turn,
you use the signet ring ability (with the corresponding
icon) on your leader.
STEAL INTRIGUE
Each opponent who has 4 or more intrigue cards must
give you one of them (selected at random).
SWORD
Each sword adds 1 strength to your strength total in a
conflict.
TRASH 1 CARD from your hand, discard pile, or in
play. Return it to the box; it won’t be used for the rest
of the game (return reserve cards to their stack in the
reserve instead).
Trashing is optional unless it’s paying a cost, or if a
card directs you to trash itself.
TROOP
Recruit 1 troop; take it from your supply and put it in
your garrison on the game board. If you recruited the
troop while sending an agent to a combat space, you
may deploy it to the conflict.
VICTORY POINT
When you gain a VP, move your score marker one
space up on the score track. When you lose one, move
your score marker one space down.
ICON AND TERMS GUIDE
ACQUIRE
Some cards have a special acquire box, shown
underneath their cost. You gain the effect here one
time, at the moment you acquire the card (and not
later, when you play it from your hand).
ACQUIRE A FOLDSPACE CARD
from the reserve.
AGENT
From the swordmaster space, you can gain your third
agent (that was placed next to the board during setup
of the game), then use it for the rest of the game.
ALLIANCE
You may use this effect only if you have the alliance token of
the faction shown.
CONTROL
If you win a conflict with a control reward (Arrakeen,
Carthag, or Imperial Basin), place your control marker
on the flag below that space (replacing any opponent’s
marker there). When a conflict card is revealed for a
space that you already control, you may deploy one
troop from your supply to the conflict.
DRAW A CARD from your deck. If your deck is
empty, reshuffle the discard pile in your supply to form
a new deck, then continue to draw.
DRAW AN INTRIGUE CARD from the intrigue
deck. Keep it facedown until you play it. You may look
at it at any time.
FREMEN BOND
You may use this effect if you have one or more other Fremen
cards in play. Two cards with Fremen bond can activate one
another, regardless of order played.
IN PLAY
Cards you play on agent turns and reveal during your reveal
turn remain faceup and in play until you clean up at the end of
your reveal turn (unless they are trashed first).
INFLUENCE
You may use this effect only if you have at least the amount of
influence indicated with the given faction.
GAIN INFLUENCE
with the faction shown:
Emperor, Spacing Guild,
Bene Gesserit, or Fremen.
GAIN 1, GAIN 2,
LOSE 1 INFLUENCE
Choose any one of the 4 factions.
If gaining 2 influence, you cannot choose 2 different factions.
LOSE A TROOP
When you lose a troop, return it to your supply (not your
garrison).
MAKER
The 3 board spaces with the maker icon each gain
1 bonus spice during Phase 4: Makers if no agent
is present. When you send an agent to one of these
board spaces, you also gain all bonus spice there.
MENTAT
Take the mentat from its space on the board
(if it’s there; you can’t take it from another player
or another space).
Place it on your leader; you may use it as one of your agents
to take an agent turn. When you take the mentat as a conflict
reward, keep it as an agent for next round and don’t return it to
the board at the end of this one.
PAYING A COST
Indicates a cost (left of the arrow, or above it)
and an effect (right of the arrow, or below it).
If you don’t pay the cost, you don’t get the effect. You are never
forced to pay such a cost on a card.
PERSUASION
You receive persuasion mainly from the reveal boxes
on cards, and use it to acquire imperium or reserve
cards, paying the cost shown in their top right corner.
RECALL
When you recall one of your agents, put it back on your leader.
You may use it again on another agent turn in the same round.
RESOURCES
Solari, spice, water.
When you gain a resource or pay one as a cost, it’s taken from
or returned to the bank. For solari and spice, gain or pay the
amount shown.
RETREAT
When you retreat a troop, move it from the conflict back to
your garrison.
SIGNET RING
When you play your signet ring card on an agent turn,
you use the signet ring ability (with the corresponding
icon) on your leader.
STEAL INTRIGUE
Each opponent who has 4 or more intrigue cards must
give you one of them (selected at random).
SWORD
Each sword adds 1 strength to your strength total in a
conflict.
TRASH 1 CARD from your hand, discard pile, or in
play. Return it to the box; it won’t be used for the rest
of the game (return reserve cards to their stack in the
reserve instead).
Trashing is optional unless it’s paying a cost, or if a
card directs you to trash itself.
TROOP
Recruit 1 troop; take it from your supply and put it in
your garrison on the game board. If you recruited the
troop while sending an agent to a combat space, you
may deploy it to the conflict.
VICTORY POINT
When you gain a VP, move your score marker one
space up on the score track. When you lose one, move
your score marker one space down.